christmas – Jaclyn Grace

Home Sweet Home… Kind Of

The past few months have been crazy as always. Between finishing grad school (!), Christmas, New Years, and moving to Hoboken, NJ (!) I have barely had a moment to myself. For months and months I waited until New Years Day when I would be moving 3.5 hours from my childhood home to my first real apartment…. and here I am.

screen-shot-2017-01-04-at-6-06-37-pm — First glass of wine while relaxing in my new home!

I am finally settled in and trying my hardest to adjust before I start my new job next week. It certainly has been a rollercoaster to say the least. I’ve cried, laughed, celebrated, and cried some more (… there has actually been lots of crying if I’m being honest).

The last few days have been hard, but I knew that they would be. I know that it will be an adjustment to be so far away from the majority of my family. As you may know, my family is extremely close. Almost every night for the past few months my mom and I have sat down on the couch in our pjs to chat, drink our favorite David’s tea (more on this later), and watch a show together. I have loved our quality time and it’s hard to think that we can’t do that anymore. It’s also hard to wrap my head around that fact that I can’t just walk across the street to visit my grandparents or hop in the car for a minute to go visit my Godson anymore.

But, the important thing is that I know I will adjust in time! I know in my heart that this is exactly where I am meant to be and exactly what I am meant to be doing, no matter how difficult it is. Growth comes only from pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone.

screen-shot-2017-01-04-at-5-47-44-pm

This post isn’t meant to be me throwing a pity party for myself –but rather me being completely transparent on how I am feeling so far in this post-grad transition. I have always hoped that this blog would showcase highs, lows, and everything in between that happens in my life. I never wanted it to serve as a highlight reel, because what’s the point of telling my story if I’m not going to be completely honest?

Tomorrow I’ll be sharing my New Year Resolutions, along with a recap of the fun that Dan and I had today! Be sure to check in 🙂

xo,

Jaclyn

Flannel Love Affair

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, I love love love being cozy when the temperatures get colder. There’s nothing better than being wrapped up on the couch in a warm blanket with a nice big cup of coffee. With the winter months just around the corner, my all-time favorite blanket to snuggle up under is my Vermont Flannel.

Screen Shot 2016-10-04 at 10.02.48 PM.png

Over the years, I have collected more blankets than I care to admit. However, since receiving this gem 2.5 years ago as a gift, I haven’t touched another one! All Vermont Flannel products are hand-made in the USA and are of extremely high quality. Mine has been heavily used and washed countless times over the years – yet it just seems to get softer and softer.

I also love these flannel pants. I have one pair and wear them too often to count during the colder months. Just like the blanket, they get softer with each wash.

I’m not usually one to promote a brand or product on here, but I feel so strongly about this company. To give you an idea, everyone in my family got a blanket from here last Christmas! We now have four of them in my house alone. On top of that, I am considering investing in another pair of pajama pants for myself :).

I guarantee you that if you find yourself investing in a Vermont Flannel blanket, you won’t ever want to leave your couch come December and January! (and yes- I am speaking from experience 😉 ).

xo,

Jaclyn

Fall Favorites

Hi all!

I could not have been more excited to find out when I woke up that it was National Coffee Day today! One of my absolute favorite things to do on a chilly, fall day is to sit down with a nice big mug of coffee.

Screen Shot 2016-09-29 at 7.37.29 PM.png

This got me thinking about some of the other things that I love about fall, and there are lots and lots of them!

In the past, summer has always been my favorite season. I loved nothing more than spending all of my days out by the pool with a good book. Now that I have a full-time job during the summer and no pool to use daily, I find myself looking forward to the fall more and more each year.

Some of my top favorite things about fall:

PUMPKIN EVERYTHING

Even though Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts released their pumpkin spice lattes and coffee weeks ago, I forced myself to wait until September 22nd (the actual first day of fall) to order one.

screen-shot-2016-09-29-at-7-33-10-pm

Now that that day has passed, I’m enjoying pumpkin fall beverages every chance that I get! Before you know it, Christmas drinks will be out!

2. Layering

I absolutely love being cozy. Whether this means curling up under a thick blanket (which is always my Vermont Flannel Throw that I am completely obsessed with), or bundling up with layers to spend the day studying, I love it. There are so many cute and comfy fall trends that I am completely obsessed with. It’s just so easy to throw on a big sweater and scarf and look like you made an effort for the day ;).

Screen Shot 2016-09-29 at 7.37.39 PM.png

3. Football

While I will admit that I’ve never been a die-hard fan, I become more and more interested in watching football every year. There’s something about sitting down on a Sunday afternoon (or Thursday night) with a bunch of snacks and watching the Patriots kick some serious butt.

screen-shot-2016-09-29-at-7-29-17-pm

4. Santa is Coming!

Just kidding! (kind of) I love knowing that the holidays are right around the corner even if it is a little bit too early to start celebrating. Some of my favorite memories growing up coincide with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Screen Shot 2016-09-29 at 7.34.55 PM.png — Last year’s family wreath-making night!

I love surprising my family with special gifts and just making the most of the time that we all get to spend together. I also love the fact that in just a few weeks it will finally be acceptable to start listening to christmas music again ;).

There are plenty more but I’m going to cut the list there for now and finish up the rest of my homework. Tomorrow I’m going to be sharing some very exciting news, so be sure to check in!

xo,

Jaclyn

Weekend Recap

This weekend was a great one – filled with lots of friends and fun! On Friday night, I went out for appetizers and drinks with my fellow dance team seniors.

12376468_10207998723074779_575735984478278012_n — Don’t mind the bad picture quality!

We have been trying to get together more often lately and we had a blast. We went over to a delicious Mexican restaurant nearby called Mezcal. We got four pitchers of margaritas to split. After much debate, we decided on coconut raspberry, blood orange, mai tai, and guava flavors. They were all phenomenal.

We also split two large orders of guacamole! My favorite was the “tropical” flavor. It was regular guac combined with pecans, mango, and coconut. I know it sounds kind of strange, but trust me when I say that it was delicious.

On Saturday morning, I got up bright and early to head into Boston for an ugly sweater christmas bar crawl that a few of my friends and I had bought tickets for. Three of us left on the 8:50 train so that we could get brunch in Boston before hand.

After walking all over creation trying to find somewhere that wasn’t packed, we ended up at the Trophy Room. We started off our day right with mimosas, easily one of the best ones that I have ever had.

I ordered eggs benedict for my meal. It came with seasoned homefries and was topped with bacon, mushrooms, and sautéed spinach.

12341197_10207998715034578_4383600740677365522_n

I ate every single bite and was in heaven. I will definitely be back here next time I find myself around the Back Bay of Boston!

After brunch, we headed over to the Faneuil Hall area to register for the bar crawl. We met up with the rest of our group on the way over. I was so excited to be reunited with my IQP group again!

12322433_10207987221587249_776375890866677999_o — So grateful for these three

We spent the rest of our day sipping on drinks, socializing, and taking in some of the ugliest christmas sweaters I have ever seen. This day was exactly what I needed to start getting in the holiday spirit (even though Christmas is less than two weeks away!).

12376823_10207998714394562_3746006147841286114_n

12369239_10207998723474789_3482156453844019664_n

12360231_10207998716354611_1819412396368231028_n

12369157_10207998722074754_5513783454102466660_n — This tree was beautiful!

Now, I am back to studying for finals and finishing up the last few reports that I have to do before break.

xo,

Jaclyn